Everything’s Bigger in Texas

I promise…no bad Texas jokes. I mulled Texas over quite a bit before I decided it is going on the Yes Side of the ledger. Texas is such a big state that there’s no way to see everything and do everything in one vacation.

(Oh sorry, what was that about Texas jokes? )

I was in Dallas, Texas about 10 years ago. Back then I was selling Mary Kay Cosmetics and their home office is in Dallas so I was there for an annual Convention. I don’t remember exactly how many days I was in town but I think it was in August so it was hot! And when it’s hot, folks in Dallas disappear between 12-2 for a siesta! No one is on the streets.

I did get to see the “grassy knoll” and the “Book Depository” where Lee Harvey Oswald took the fatal shot that ended the life of President John F. Kennedy. The Sixth Floor Museum has a collection of photos and documents and news clippings from the time. The tour is a self guided tour with an audio tape, or it was at that time.

Of course if I was there for a Mary Kay convention then that was going to be the focus and it was quite impressive. We got to tour her offices on the 13th floor of the Mary Kay World Headquarters and we got to go to the Mary Kay museum. That made me think of seeing how flight attendants uniforms have changed over the years. There was a whole section of manikins dressed in the various Mary Kay uniforms from over the years.

So as you can see, I didn’t see very much of Texas. Next trip I want to see the Alamo. Founded near the San Antonio river in 1718, the Alamo became a symbol of Freedom for the nation and remains an iconic element of Texas independence.

While in San Antonio I want to explore the River Walk, a 3 mile, flagstone esplanade that winds amid tropical foliage along both sides of the San Antonio River.

Along the Mission Trail is Mission San Jose . Established in 1720, it is still an active parish and known as a photographer’s dream.

In Austin, located in Central Texas, we’d sample the Texas Barbecue. “They” say that Texas barbecue, especially central Texas barbecue, is so good that you don’t need barbecue sauce and some places don’t even bother to serve it! The very best barbecue is said to be around Austin. Texas Barbecue is usually beef but some pork can be located if one looks hard enough.

Oh dear, Running out of space again but we can revisit Texas another time. There’s rodeos to consider, vintage train rides and National Parks, space center Houston and mountains in West Texas. There’s even a “Birding Trail.” Yup it’s called the Great Texas Birding Trail and more than half of the recorded species of North America can be found along here. And we can’t forget that Texas has a Gulf Coast. So there’s much,much more to cover in Texas!